Connected
by Nichorellos
Summary: Nicky and Alex live together and even though it has been years, they just can't get over a certain red lipped tiny brunette and her blonde blue eyed friend. [Will probably be M rated in future chapters.]
1. New York, May 12, 2023

**[Author's note: Hey guys, so I have this concept for a fic for a while now, and after a lot of thinking, I just decided to write the damn thing. English is not my native language and I do not have a Beta so that will explain the probably inevitable mistakes that I will make, haha. That being said, enjoy this short intro of a multi chapter fic and remember: Reviews = Love!**]

_New York, May 12, 2023_

Nicky woke up from the sound of the front door closing loudly. "Fucking Vause," Nicky softly whined as her eyes slowly scanned her bedroom. Broken lamps, ripped posters and a thong that wasn't Nicky's was just casually hanging over her bedroom doorknob. Nicky started to sit up on her bed only to be hit with a sudden headache from last night's drinking. "Oh right, I had a little slumber party," Nicky realized while she grabbed her holy Fuckbook from her nightstand. "Let's see: Nice tits, likes a finger or two in her bum and has an ultra sensitive clit", Nicky wrote down as she listed a few things that caught her attention from last night's sex. _Hmmm...name..? Fuck what was her name?_ Nicky thought out loud. "Blabber mouth.", Nicky finally wrote down after she gave up thinking when she realized that they haven't exchanged names.

"Hey Vause, have you seen this hot sorta Asian looking chick," Nicky sleepily asked while her eyes were still adjusting to the bright lights in Alex and Nicky's living room. "Yeah, she left like 5 minutes ago thank God, she just wouldn't fucking shut up , sweet girl though, made us coffee. See?," Alex answered as she held up her coffee mug. "Yeah well, I found a way to shut her up, turns out that all that talking wasn't a complete waste of time and breath, she got one strong and talented tongue, man," Nicky couldn't help but to lazily smirk while thinking about last nights events.

She spotted the poor girl by herself at the club, so in complete Nicky style she approached the girl like a lion approaches a gazelle. The girl was cautious at first, felt a bit uneasy with the sudden attention she received from the wild haired woman, but she definitely wasn't complaining. The more she felt comfortable, the more she started to talk, and the more Nicky regretted her choice of prey tonight. An agonizing hour about earth pollution later, Nicky just leaned in and kissed the chatty girl on the mouth, hoping it would shut her up. The girl kissed her back and when things started to heat up, Nicky asked her if she wanted to continue this in the comfort of her bed. The sex was good if you don't count the amount of times the young girl was moaning about world politics instead of Nicky's name. A few orgasms and an headache later Nicky fell asleep only to be woken a couple of hours later by the sound of the front door shutting of course.

Nicky chuckled and shook her head as she poured herself a nice hot cup of coffee. "What's so funny, Nichols?" Alex asked while she cleaned her foggy glasses due to the steam that her mug released. "You know, I just realized I don't know the girl's name, but luckily I do know her stands on child labour." Nicky sarcastically added.

"Yeah well what is the use of knowing her name if you hook up every night with a different girl?" Alex yawned while she aimlessly flipped trough a Playboy that happen to be on their table. "Well, for my Fuckbook, duh" Nicky said while she sat next to her best friend punching her gently on her arm only regretting it once she saw a sad look in the tall girl's eyes. "C'mon dude I didn't punch you THAT hard." Nicky nervously chuckled, hoping it would lighten the mood.

"Its just that, well Taystee and Poussey are gonna get married next month and even Big Boo has a Mrs. Boo in her life," Alex sighed. "You want me to marry you?," Nicky suggested while trying to hide a smirk. Alex sighed, stood up and threw the Playboy on the table, wanting to walk away, only to stop and turn around. "Everything is just a damn joke to you, Nicky! This isn't how I imagined our lives would be after Litchfield. Whatever happened to "Vause, once I get out of this hell hole, I am gonna marry the shit outta Morello and have a bunch of crazy Italian kids." Alex was fuming. "We had plans, I would be with Piper, and you would be with Lorna. And we would be having lame double dates and be each others best woman at each others weddings. All we do is fuck girls we don't even like and order take out. We are too old for this crap, Nick," Alex was shaking right now, not noticing the tears that left her piercing green eyes.

"Well, she left me, Vause, never forget that important detail," Nicky darkly muttered.

"Yeah, and you know what? You just let her go," Alex calmly said before she grabbed her jacket and slammed the door of their apartment.

"Fucking door," Nicky whined again, only to rub her temples to ease the headache. She looked at the clock, only to see that it's 8AM. She know its too early for alcohol, but she pours a small glass of whisky anyway. _Lorna fucking Morello. It has been a true curse and a blessing to have gotten to know you._ Nicky thought as she downed the drink in one go.


	2. Litchfield, May 12, 2013

**[Authors note: First of all, the amount of love I got for this fic was pleasantly overwhelming. I am so grateful and I will try my best to keep y'all entertained. That being said, I decided to work with a timeline, constantly switching between the litchfield days and the present until they both collide and I will take it from there. The reviews were very motivating so please do keep showing your love and hey share ideas or what you hope to see. Enjoy!]**

_Litchfield, May 12, 2013 _

"Vause!," Nicky called out when she saw her tall friend in the cafeteria, searching for a place to sit. Alex immediately recognized the raspy loud voice. "Oh, Nicky," she chuckled when she saw the shorter woman run towards her, only to be stopped by officer Bell.

"No running, Nichols," Bell warned sternly. "Sorry, sorry," Nicky apologized, slowing down.

When Nicky finally got to the table Alex picked out, she sported a wicked smirk. "Why are you in such a good mood, Nichols?," Alex asked. To which Nicky answered "Welllll...I don't know if you forgot but today is the day some new fresh faces will arrive."

Nicky always loved the sight of new faces in orange uniforms climbing out of the white prison van. Sure, there weren't always hotties in the van, but even in that case Nicky would pursue the least appalling one.

It's not because having sex with the same inmates gets repetitive but because she wants to expand her list of girls she's fucked so she can journal about them in her "fuckbook."

That fuckbook had been her anchor since her arrival at Litchfield, it used to be a distraction, she would list the most fuckable babes in the prison and whenever she managed to fuck a listed pussy, she would put a small check mark next to their names. What started as a fun little fuckgame turned into a crucial part of her daily life. The concept is still the same, but it had been expanded to drawings, description of the body, funny/noticable traits of the sex.

It was not an addiction, Nicky thought of it more as a hobby. _Better pussy than smack.._ Nicky thought as she played around with her cold eggs.

"Earth to Nichols," Alex called, waving her hand in front of Nicky's face.

"Huh", Nicky said snapping out of her thoughts.

"Ah yes, good morning Nichols," Alex said sarcastically. "So, as I was saying, I am so ready to let Sylvie go, and you probably are dying to add new names to your mysterious little book," Alex mused while Nicky flipped her off with a smirk.

"Let's check the newbies out, they should be here, by lunchtime," Alex continued but Nicky already lost interest at what her dark haired friend was saying when she spotted the prison bus arriving earlier than expected outside, through the window.

"They're here!," Boo shouted and everyone left their tray to run towards the windows.

It wasn't that everyone wanted some new pussy, some were interested in new stories to hear, new members of tribes. Red, Mendoza and miss Claudette had the best spots at the window for the latter. Chang didn't care too much about the tribe thing, never did. She loved everybody.

Alex casually joined Nicky, in her cool Alex fashion to not seem too desperate and to hide her excitement.

Nicky was less subtle, her face glued to the window, not caring that she probably looked like a creep to their new fellow inmates. She first saw a tanned Latina, with some blonde bits in her hair. _Not bad, I bet her full lips will be interesting. _Nicky thought, letting the scene play out in her head.

The next girl was a african american young woman, with a shaved head and a "too-cool-for-school" attitude. Nicky thought of her as a potential girl she can hang with.

"So far not so bad right, Vause?". Alex felt frozen, she felt her mouth become dry and her jaw fell just slightly, only when Nicky noticed she stopped blinking, she called her friend again, worrying slightly.

"Vause?" Alex knew that Nicky was calling her, but she honestly couldn't move, everything became background. She has never experienced this before. She couldn't keep her eyes off of the third inmate stepping out of the van.

Was it the soft blonde hair or the warm blue eyes, or maybe it was the way she offered the tinier girl next to her a helping hand, getting out of the van.

When the blonde looked around, carefully studying her new environment, she looked as if she was disgusted. _I know, girl. This place is an hell hole, and you must be a goddamn fallen angel. _Alex thought, mentally slapping herself because this wasn't what Alex fucking Vause does.

Alex always thought of herself as a female James Dean, she was always smooth and didn't show affection or any other emotions that would indicate that she liked someone. It wasn't that she was cold hearted but she was just very selective in who she lets into her heart.

But this isn't a James Dean movie, this felt more like a cartoon and Alex was the hopelessly romantic fool with huge throbbing heart eyes and a drooling face.

"Holy Mary, fuck my ass," she hears Nicky swear quietly, snapping her out of her thoughts. Alex followed the direction Nicky's eyes were directed at.

It was the tinier brunette that had trouble getting out of the van. She also noticed that her mysterious blonde and Nicky's tiny girl were now staring back at them.

Nicky was now locking eyes with the red lipped woman. _Who the fuck wears lipstick in prison? _ Nicky thought while grinning like an idiot now. The girl was now smiling and shrugged her shoulders slightly as a way of saying "Wow, I guess I really am in prison now, huh." Nicky responded with a sympathetic tight lipped nod as a confirmation.

She then saw a blonde whispering into the tiny hottie's ear and saw her laugh.

Two things were occupying Nicky's mind now. The first thing was _That blonde is one lucky bastard because she is standing so close to that beauty, I bet she can even smell her smell._ Nicky thought, as a pang of jealousy washed over her.

And the second thing was "Wow what a beautiful sight," and right there and then, Nicky made a mental promise to herself to make that tiny stranger laugh as much as she possibly can.

The girl was now looking directly at Nicky again, but this time longer and less out of curiosity and more out of amusement.

Nicky, who had trouble wiping her dumb grin off her face, waved at the girl, regretting it almost instantly because she must have looked like an overly enthusiastic school girl.

It seemed that the younger woman noticed Nicky mentally slapping herself, so in return she waved back, wiggling her fingers doing so as a way of saying "It's fine, don't worry."

When a few other women got out and joined the orange group, officer Bennet ordered them to keep moving, in a friendly way. He even smiled briefly at the Latina that first got out, only to clear his throat after and keep his gaze on the fence.


	3. New York, May 13, 2023

**[Author's note: What did you think of that lovely dive into the past of the ladies? So I thought it was time to add Red to the story, she is kind of an key character to the girls. Also, I am working on making the chapters a bit longer. That being said, enjoy!**

**PS: THANK YOU for your reviews/faves/follows. It is truly motivating, so do not hesitate to leave a review.]**

_New York, May 13, 2023_

Alex walked the streets of New York the next morning by herself. After the argument she had with Nicky yesterday, she got drunk and ended up having sex with a red head whose face Alex honestly doesn't remember. She even spent the night at the girl's house, not wanting to see Nicky for a while, partly because she was still angry and partly because she felt ashamed.

After the stranger's alarm went off in the morning, and the red headed girl got up to take a shower, Alex left her place without mentioning anything to the poor girl. She knew that wasn't classy but she honestly didn't care.

Not wanting to go see Nicky in their apartment right now, she just walked the streets until she got to the one place her feet always brought her, somehow. Red's renewed restaurant: The Chicken's Cluck. Alex remembers the night Red went to their bunk at Litchfield, searching for a catchy name for her new restaurant. Alex liked the name "The Chicken's Cluck". It sounded catchy, but it was Nicky that rejected every suggestion for the restaurant's name that Red and Alex made. "I am telling you, you have to go with Mother Clucker, that is just solid gold!," the wild haired woman said passionately.

Red was the first one of the Litchfield bunch to get released. After serving over a decade, the administration thought she was ready to be released into the outside world again. There had been an incredibly emotional good bye party. When you spend that much time in prison, and in the position Red did, you are bound to touch some hearts. She provided food, advice, and tough love when you were on her good side. When you were on her bad side, however , which only a few dared to be, she gave you bloody tampon sandwiches.

The Red chicken logo on the door always felt very safe to Alex, she was glad to see that business was going good for the Russian maternal figure.

"Vause, come here and taste these eggs," Red ordered behind the counter, after she saw the dark haired girl come in.

Alex took place in an empty seat opposite of Red, and took a spoonful of eggs only to spit it out seconds after she put it in her mouth.

"What? Its a secret recipe," Red defended.

"Let it remain a secret, please. Red, what is that? I definitely had better food in this place." Alex eagerly drank her glass of water that Red just filled for her.

"It's chicken testicles. It's a waste to not use every part of the chicken," Red replied, throwing away the eggs.

"I am guessing your unhappy face isn't only a product of my new invention," Red asked, casually.

"There is just no way someone can hide anything from you, huh?" Alex laughed. Red knew. Of course she knew. She always knew whether Nicky and Alex were genuinely okay or just faking it.

"Nicky and I kinda got into an argument, well it was actually just me shouting and she not taking it seriously." Alex sighed, regretting the part where she accused Nicky of letting Lorna go. She had done the exact same thing. Piper Chapman was worth the fight. _Why didn't I fight harder.. _Alex thought as she fought the tears that were threatening to leave her sad green eyes.

Red saw the younger woman fighting her internal battles and she immediately made her way to Alex, two protective arms pulling the kid into a tight hug.

"It's okay. Whatever you are battling against, it's gonna get better." Red softly whispered. "I am guessing this is about Blondie?," Red asked, but actually knew.

Alex just sobbed and nodded, as she started to take her glasses off, to wipe her tears.

"Listen to me, kid. It has been 5 years. You and the other dumb daughter of mine have been too naive. You think that just because you bring other girls home, play video games, and party your dumb asses off, you can get over Lorna and Piper, but you are sadly mistaken."

Alex looked into Red's eyes, listening carefully to the Russian lady with her tear glazed eyes.

"You either fight for them or move on forever," Red said, not breaking eye contact.

"Yeah right, when will I even see them. I don't even know if they are in the US anymore," Alex said, trying to stop her sobs and partly succeeding.

"Don't Jefferson and Washington have a wedding next month?," Red thought out loud.

"Holy shit, of course!," Alex gasped. This is it. This may be her last chance to win over Piper's heart again.

"I need to talk to Nicky, right now," Alex said hurriedly, jumping out of her seat and leaving the restaurant after planting a huge kiss on Red's cheek that she wiped away laughingly.

"Why are my daughters so stupid?," Red said, smiling to herself as she threw away the left over chicken testicles from the fridge.

* * *

Nicky tried calling Alex what seemed like a billion times, but with no success. This really wasn't typical for Alex and at the same time it was. Just randomly disappearing and then showing up and pretending nothing happened was what Alex Vause did to cool down after a heated argument.

_Wow she must have been really pissed off._ Nicky thought. Alex's words never left her head since they were spoken. Had it been true? Did she let Lorna go without a fight? "I only let her go because my goal in life isn't to be with her but to make her happy and if that isn't with me then.." Nicky felt her heart ache in the loneliest way possible.

"Fuck," Nicky sweared as she felt tears falling down her cheeks. "Don't cry, come on, come on, stop crying. Stop being so weak, she is gone, she is better off without me," Nicky said brokenly, while she wiped her tears harshly with her sleeve.

She hated talking about Lorna, and it was a subject all of her friends tried to avoid when Nicky was around, because they knew the effect it had on her.

Nicky was willing to talk about her personal drug battles to random strangers during the AA meetings she attended for the past 5 years, and she was also willing to talk about her evil mother to Red and her friends. But Lorna Morello was a forbidden subject, and Alex knew that too.

"Fuck you, Vause. That was so unfair and uncalled for. You fucking hypocrite," Nicky sweared, her sadness being replaced with anger now.

She balled her fists and dug her nails into her skin, not caring about the blood that was now pouring out of her skin. She clenched her jaw so tightly that she didn't feel anything but her head throbbing and jaw aching. She felt like she needed a cigarette, or actually something a lot stronger, but she knew she worked too hard to fuck up right now. So instead she went over the medicine cabinet in their bathroom, leaving a trail of spilt blood, and took the last sleeping pill in the bottle. She looked in the mirror and realized that she looked like shit. She sighed and leaned with her back against the bathroom wall, she slid her body down until her knees met the floor, she softened the pressure on her jaw and took a good look at her hands now. Her palms were red and her heart felt heavy. She closed her eyes and as fatigue took over her body, she fell asleep.

* * *

"Nick!," Alex called while she stepped into their apartment. No response. Alex sighed. _She probably went outside._ Alex thought. Alex grabbed her phone and noticed the missed calls, she felt guilty as shit. She called Nicky, but was met with the sound of her ringtone coming out of Nicky's bedroom.

N_icky always takes her phone with her, wherever she goes. _Alex thought as her heartbeat quickened.

"Nick are you-," Alex stopped when she saw the blood stains on their floor. Her blood ran cold as she followed the stains into the bathroom.

She opened the door quickly and saw a bloody hot mess that was supposed to be her best friend. When she eyed the empty bottle of sleeping pills on the floor, she only panicked more.

"Nicky. Nicky, open your eyes. Please, oh God. Nicky!,"Alex cried, shaking her friend wildly after she ran towards her and was now cradling her in her arms.

"What the fuck, Vause?," Nicky replied, moody. "Let me go, ya maniac."

"Nick, are you okay?," Alex asked with panic in her eyes.

"Yeah, man. You can let go of me now." Nicky pushed Alex slightly so she could sit up on her own.

"What the fuck, Nichols. You scared me half to death. I thought you overdosed, you ass hole."

"Overdose? Dude there was one pill in the bottle," Nicky said, half laughing because of the ridiculousness of the situation.

"Well what about the blood stains," Alex wanted to know.

"I am on my period," Nicky stated sarcastically as she got up to wash her palms.

"Nicky, please look at me. This is not funny, I am actually fucking worried about you," Alex said, while holding Nicky's face in her hands, forcing her to make eye contact.

"I know, I am sorry. It's just a fucking mess, ya know. I still don't know how to deal with losing her," Nicky said bitterly. There were now tears in Nicky's eyes. Fresh burning frustrating tears.

"I feel like such a selfish prick, I mean I want her to be happy. But I want her to be happy _with me_. I just know for sure that she is now married, has a couple of kids and doesn't even think about me anymore. While I am fucking suffocating because of her absence, ya know" Nicky said trying to keep her voice steady, but failing miserably because of the shakiness.

"I know, kid. I know," Alex said while she pulled her best friend in a warm hug.

"But, I have a plan."


	4. Litchfield, May 26, 2013

**[Author's note: Thank you guys for your continuous support, seriously. As always, leave reviews because they equal love and keeps me motivated. Enjoy!]**

_Litchfield, May 26, 2013_

"Yeah, but like how straight are you? Are you like Sarah Palin straight or like Lindsay Lohan straight?," Nicky persisted while taking her tray and walking to their usual table with Lorna.

"I am as straight as any Italian Catholic girl with a fiancee, Nicky!," Lorna defended.

Nicky loved to mess with the smaller girl, it has become an incredibly entertaining hobby of hers since the Italian girl arrived at Litchfield, two weeks ago.

As they reached their table, as always accompanied by Big Boo, Yoga Jones, Sister Ingalls, Alex and Piper, Nicky let out a dramatic sigh followed by a chuckle.

"You know, Morello, that actually sounds like the beginning of a really lame porn movie to be honest. I can just imagine you, little Catholic girl, entering Church to confess your sins, and I would play the naughty nun. I would take you across my knee, bare your ass and give you the spanking of a life time," Nicky said with a low voice, while giving Lorna an evil smirk and a wink.

Lorna looked horrified, and somehow forgot to function normally because she started to choke on her spaghetti after hearing Nicky's little fantasy.

"Nicky for God's sake, look at what you did," Piper said, while giving Lorna her cup of water to soothe the irritations in the red lipped girl's throat.

"Fuck...you...Nichols," Lorna said with watery eyes, trying to catch her breath.

"Sister, are you hearing this?" Boo said to Sister Ingalls laughlingly.

"Oh trust me, that is not the worst nun fantasy I have heard." Sister Ingalls said, giving a sympathetic smile.

As Yoga Jones, Big Boo and Sister Ingalls started discussing unholy literacy, and Lorna and Nicky started to discuss the Kinsey scale, with Lorna stating that there are only three sexual preferences: 100% Gay, 100% Straight and 100% Bi, and Nicky stating that sexuality was fluid as fuck and you can be like 90% straight and 10% gay, Alex just looked at Piper trying to join the discussions around her at first but giving up eventually.

_God, she is so adorable._ Alex thought as she drank her fruit-flavored tea, what actually tasted like dish water with a faint blueberry taste. She stood up to clear her tray and walk to her bunk, leaving her chaotic friends behind.

"Hey Alex, wait!," Piper said, trying to catch up. "Are you mad?," Piper asked, now standing face to face with the tall girl.

"Nah, it was just a little too chaotic for me, you know. I kinda wanna lie down." Alex said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh...can I join you?," Piper said, trying to sound nonchalant.

* * *

"Lorna, will you at least look at me?," Nicky said, trying to hold the Italian girl's hands, but failing because Lorna pulled away and was now sitting stubbornly on the end of Nicky's bed, arms crossed over her chest.

"I am not like you and Alex, Nicky. I-,"

"-like dick and balls, especially Chuck's dick and balls." Nicky interrupted.

"Christopher." Lorna corrected. "You know his name, Nicky."

Nicky sighed. "Look, of course I do. I am just sick of hearing about the guy, that is all you talk about since you have arrived."

"Are you jealous, Nichols?," Lorna mused.

"Well...yeah. But tell me, what is the guy like in bed?"

"Well, if you must know, he is terrific." Lorna said, sounding a little too eager to convince the wild haired woman.

"Oh really?," Nicky said, licking her lips in amusement as she sat next to the short girl.

"Has he ever made you cum? Ever drove you wild? Has the thought of him ever left you wet and frustrated, craving for his touch?" Nicky said, as her warm breath tickled Lorna's ear.

"O- of course, I mean that is what every girl feels when she loves her fiancee. And I love my fiancee, he is just a delightful man. And such a gentleman, and-" Nicky laughed seeing the younger woman get more uncomfortable with each sentence.

"Morello, relax. I am just messing with ya." Nicky said, as she reached out and tucked some stray hairs behind Lorna's ear. Nicky learned that in the short period of time of knowing the Italian girl, that it calmed her down somehow.

"Yeah I know, I do miss him though, Nichols." Lorna said, sadness taking over her.

"I understand." Nicky replied, looking into Lorna's eyes.

"You...do?" Lorna said, disbelievingly.

"Yeah, I mean I have never been in love. But I can imagine it'd be very hard to leave the love of your life behind to go to prison." Nicky said, giving Lorna a sympathetic squeeze in her shoulder.

"Yes, exactly! I am so glad you understand, Nichols. It makes me feel less lonely." Lorna said, giving a thankful smile.

"So you do feel lonely?" Nicky asked, changing her strategy to convince the Italian girl to have sex with her. The thought alone made hiding her smirk impossible.

"Of course, I especially miss the way he kissed my special spot." Lorna said, playing along.

"Whoa Morello, you mean like down there.." Nicky pointed to Lorna's lower body.

"No, no..I mean yes that too, but I mean like my special spot. Like in my neck, near my ear. Yeah, that I miss the most." Lorna said, while staring into Nicky's big hazel eyes. Now noticing the way Nicky was looking at her red lips. Also noticing Nicky getting closer until their noses were almost touching.

"So ehm anyway, I have this appointment with Caputo about my new job." Lorna said, immediately standing up.

"Oh yeah, well you better not be late then." Nicky said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Hey Nicky," Lorna said turning around and walking back towards the wild haired woman.

"Hmm," Nicky replied.

"Thanks for understanding," Lorna said, followed by a kiss on Nicky's cheek, leaving a perfect red lipstick mark on the older woman's face, before leaving her bunk.

_A kiss on the cheek? Lame. _Nicky thought but after checking her cheek out in the bathroom mirror later that day, she could feel her heart swell of happiness and pride.

* * *

"So where did you and Morello meet?" Alex asked, leaning on her elbow, looking at the beautiful blonde lying next to her on her bed.

"We met at kindergarten, I got bullied and she stood up for me." Piper said, describing the scene.

_**Piper Chapman was a lover, not a fighter. She didn't know how to fight, which wasn't very helpful and especially now, because she was being cornered by a group of girls with water guns.**_

_**Before the leader of the bullies, a girl slightly older than Piper, even had the chance to spray water at her, she saw a mysterious little dark haired girl speeding towards them and fully punching the older girl in the face.**_

_**When the older bully and her friends wanted to spray water on her little hero, she looked sternly at the girl and yelled "Don't you dare! Don't make me knife you.." as she grabbed a small set of nail clippers from her West Side Story merch backpack, and was now approaching the girls slowly, but in a threatening way.**_

_**The girl got so scared that she walked away, she motioned her friends to follow her lead and they followed her, looking for a new victim.**_

_**"Whatever, freaks. We're outta here." The bully managed to say before leaving the two young girls alone.**_

"Whoa, really? Little Morello did that?" Alex couldn't believe it. _Hot damn, Nicky got a feisty one._

"Yeah she is an amazing friend, and I never had any problems with that bully again." Piper said, smiling big.

"I wish I had a Lorna Morello in my youth." Alex softly wished.

"Why? You don't look like the type that gets picked on." Piper said, furrowing her brows.

"Well...it's a long story to be honest." Alex wasn't really in the mood to tell her crush about her least cool phase in her life.

"Well, I don't know if you noticed but," Alex pointed at her khaki prison uniform. "I've got plenty of time, so spill."


	5. New York, May 14, 2023

**[Author's note: Thank you for the support guys, here is a longer chapter for ya. Enjoy.**

**As always: Reviews are very welcome.]**

_New York, May 14, 2023_

After an emotional night like that, it usually gets very quiet in the apartment, which is weird to Alex because Nicky is anything but quiet.

She is loud and wild and if her roaring skills were a little better, she could have easily be confused with a lion, the hair only completes the comparison even more.

But right now Nicky wasn't being her lion self, she was an abandoned kitten. A very shivering wet kitten, that sits in the rain on a soaked chair in their balcony and refuses to come inside.

When Alex woke up this morning, she went straight to her best friend's room, checking if she was okay after last night. After Alex's explanation of her master plan, Nicky lost her shit.

_"This is your master plan, Vause? We can't just go to the wedding and charm their pants off. Shit has happened. Shit that we can not just forget. Besides Poussey didn't invite them. She said it would be weird having them at the wedding, because of how things ended and because they are closer to us than to them." Nicky said, followed by a sigh and left the living room to go to her bedroom. _

But Nicky wasn't in her bedroom, and after Alex checked every room, she realized it was Wednesday, the day Nicky goes to her NA meetings. After that realization, she just sat on their living room sofa. The house was so incredibly quiet, the only thing that interrupted the silence were the rain drops hitting the windows. She could feel her body starting to relax when suddenly she heard a loud cough coming from their balcony. It scared the shit out of her.

She ran to their kitchen to grab the biggest knife they've got and started walking slowly towards their balcony. When she grabbed the door handle, she saw a very soaked Nicky Nichols, and it wasn't the usual explicit image that people would have if they thought of a soaked Nicky.

Alex's heart ached for the girl knowing all too well how heart break feels. Nicky was sitting in the chair with her knees pressed up against her chest, her usual fluffy semi blond mane was now darker and lost its fluffiness, looking almost straight in the rain. Her face was buried in her hands.

She put the knife down and opened the balcony door.

"Hey..Nicky, come on. Come inside." She saw the shorter woman lift her face to reveal two puffy red eyes.

Alex decided to just step into the rain and grab her best friend so she could help her get inside but was met with resilience.

"Come on, don't fight me! You are a mess, let me help you." But unfortunately the girl made no effort to leave her spot any time soon.

Alex threw her hands in the air. "Fine, I give up."

She went back inside again, to fill the bath tub with warm bubbly water and went back to their balcony.

"I am sorry," Alex said as she grabbed Nicky, threw her over her shoulder and carried her inside.

"Let go off me, Vause! Right fucking now!" Nicky wanted to shout but lost almost all of her voice, and fighting Alex wasn't that easy if you realize that the tall girl was almost twice Nicky's height.

When Alex stood in front of the tub, she dumped Nicky's fully clothed cold body in the warm tub, roughly but gentle at the same time.

"What the fuck, Alex?" Nicky said, coughing up water and rubbing her eyes.

"Good to have you back." Alex smirked and was now sitting on the toilet with the seat down.

When Nicky got used to the temperature and her eyes stopped stinging, her mind went back to the phone conversation with Poussey she had a few hours ago that ruined her day.

_"Yo Nichols, got some bad news, man. Ehm, you see, my girl T wants Chapman and Morello at the wedding. She said she misses the Litchfield days when we used to all hang out with no drama."_

_Nicky's mind went blank and her throat felt very dry. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, her heart beat was speeding as fuck._

_"No."_

_"Ay Nichols, listen-"_

_"No, Poussey! No...please." Nicky's voice cracked, this felt like a nightmare. She didn't want to face the woman that broke her heart 5 years ago._

_"I am so so sorry, man. I just-look I am only planning on marrying one time, I love my girl so much. I fought so hard for her and I wanna give her everything she wants on our special day. I know I told you and Vause that y'all didn't need to worry but Piper and Lorna will be at the wedding. They already said yes. I am sorry."_

_"I can't be at your wedding, I am sorry too." Nicky said, guilt and sorrow sounding very present and then hung up without a warning._

_She grabbed her pack of cigarettes and stepped into their balcony. _

"I am not going to the wedding, Vause."

"Nicky, like you said last night, they won't be there and it will take your mind off of you-know-who." Alex said, choosing her words carefully.

"No, they actually will be there."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked as she got up from the seat.

"Poussey called me, she said Taystee really wanted them to attend the wedding. She says she 'misses the good ol Litchfield days when there was no drama'" Nicky said sarcastically followed by a scoff.

"No drama? Did we go to different prisons or something? Anyway scrub up, if you won't go to the actual wedding then at least attend the wedding rehearsal this afternoon."

"I don't wanna..." Nicky wined.

"Stop being such a baby, Nichols. Or atleast be the best baby ever and find some hot tits you can suck on at the rehearsel." Alex winked.

"Wow, you sure know how to convince me, where is it anyway?"

"At that tennis place, owned by Poussey's uncle. They have a huge area inside that they are gonna decorate the shit out of, it's very low key. Only family and close friends."

"Ugh...alright. Only because it's low key and because I don't want things to be weird between P and me after our phone convo."

"That's the spirit, Nichols! Now go properly clean yourself, ya filthy animal."

* * *

"I can't park anywhere, fuck man." Alex could have sworn she has been in this street like 8 times now. After the girls got ready, they decided to buy some bottles of wine at the supermarket. Then they got in Alex's car and can't find a damn parking spot.

"You are making circles, Vause. Nicky said, bobbing her head to 'Zombie' by 'The Cranberries'.

"Well maybe if you turn down the damn music, I can't even think straight, Nick please."

"You never could," Nicky mused, turning the radio off completely.

"Ah finally, a parking spot." Alex finally spotted an empty area, however there was a huge BMW parked in front of it with a lot of space in the front and in the back.

_Fucking ass hole. _"Nick do you think I can fit in there, it looks tight."

"With a lot of lubrication and patience, my friend." Nicky said, playing Angry Birds, not really paying attention.

"Done, who says women can't park?" Alex smiled victoriously after missing the other cars by an inch.

The first thing they saw when they approacef the address, were four huge tennis fields outside, with random people playing tennis. The inside however had a cafeteria, and restrooms and when they walked down the hall, they saw the huge auditorium.

"Hey ass holes, ain't no party without Nilex, right?" Nicky shouted, as she walked in the huge auditorium with a face palming Alex behind her who carried the bottles.

"Hey Nichols, boy have I not missed ya shit eating grinned face, son."

"Whaddup, Boo-Boo. You missed me, c'mon give daddy a hug." Nicky opened her arms wide, ready to receive the hug.

"Nahh, I'll pass" Boo said laughing.

"Come on, Carrie. You never see Nicky, give her a hug." Boo's wife, Lorelai said. Lorelai was a woman in her 40s, with medium brown hair and green eyes, Boo was a goner the first time she layed her eyes on her. Lorelai was Big Boo's parole officer, and after Boo's parole ended the two of them decided to marry in Vegas.

"CARRIE!" Nicky shouted, and then burst into laughter.

"Nichols, do you want your damn hug or not?" Boo asked annoyed by the fact that 10 years later, her real name still is hilarious to her wild haired friend.

"Yeah, yeah I will calm down." Nicky stepped forward and gave Boo a tight hug followed by a huge kiss on her forehead then proceeded to wipe her tears from her laughing session just now.

"Isn't she the cutest? Sometimes I call her Winnie the Boo, because she is my Boo bear and way sweeter than honey." Lorelai said, looking lovingly at Boo.

"Oh my god..." Nicky said seriously as she took both of Lorelai's hands. "Thank you so much for telling me this. I love you."

* * *

"Hey Vause, cool that you convinced Nicky to come to the rehearsal."

"Yeah she was in a very down mood this morning, but that sure disappeared quickly." Alex said, nodding at the direction where Nicky was doing the limbo with two random blondes, laughing and drinking.

"Anyway, look at you, you look like you are about to get married." Alex said smiling, who was now looking closely at Poussey who was rocking an Armani suit.

"Ay, I know how to look good, and I love having more wardrobe choices than just khakis and sweats. But you know who looks really good today, that lady approaching us right now." Poussey said licking her lips, and pointing at her fiancee who sported a panicked look on her face as she approached the two women.

"Holy crap, Alex I did not expect you and Nichols to be here today." Taystee said, who was looking very worried now.

"Good to see you too, T. You sure know how to make your guests feel welcome." Alex laughed, taking another sip of her wine.

"No I didn't mean that- Alex, she is here."

Alex didn't need to ask what her friend meant by "she". She started to look around her, scanning every blonde. "This isn't one of your fucking pranks, right? Because that's not funny."

"Do you think I would joke about this? I am so sorry, Alex. But this can be a good thing, right?"

"No this is a very bad thing and I need to get Nicky and get outta here." Alex gave her glass of wine go Poussey who just had an apologetic look in her eyes. "It's fine, have a good rehearsal."

Alex was trying to found a certain curly haired woman but she couldn't find her. There were too many people, and the auditorium was too big. She felt relieved when she saw one familiar face, eating steak at one of the tables with her wife.

"Hey Boo, have you seen Nick?"

"Yeah, the fucker went to the restroom with two hot blondes."

Nicky was never the subtle type so when the two blonde women asked Nicky what she wanted to do after Limbo, she replied with "I wanna do...the both of you." To which the women each held one of Nicky's hands and led her to the restroom.

* * *

"But I really need fresh air, Pipes."

"Just one more song, Lorn. Honestly, whoever brought the wine, did a fucking good job, I mean this is my favorite wine ever. Lucky me-e." Piper sang dragging Lorna to the self made dance floor, again. After the first thirty seconds she fell disastrously.

"Alright, hun that's enough. Let's get you home." The short woman supported the weight of the blonde as they slowly made their way to the exit.

"But the rehearsal..."

"Believe me they will be relieved, you are a mess." Lorna said, struggling to support the taller girl.

* * *

"Nicky- oh God, alright." Alex said laughing at the sight that immediately met her eyes as she barged in the ladies room.

She saw her best friend kissing one blonde's neck while she crept her eager hand underneath the other blonde's dress.

"Huh," Nicky lazily replied, breaking physical contact with both of the now pouting women.

"They're here," Alex replied in a serious tone.

"Fuck!" Nicky quickly pecked both of the mouths in front of her, apologized and left the ladies room with Alex as fast as they could.

* * *

"I wanna rest, Lorna. I wanna sleep. I am sleepy. Let me sleep right here, against this net." Piper dropped her body in front of the tennis net, closing her eyes ,gaining disapproval sounds from the tennis players that were using that field.

"Oh Piper, please cooperate with me. People are playing Tennis on this field and the other fields around us. I am sorry, boys." Lorna tried with all the power she had in her tiny body to try to pick up a very stubborn and drunk Piper but to no avail.

* * *

"Look at the drunk blonde in front of that net. Is she sleeping?" Nicky said, furrowing her brows. _Must have gotten really fucked up._

"Yeah and the tiny brunette who tries to pick up her drunk ass friend while apologizing." _Poor girl._

"Is that-Dude I think that's Chapman!" Nicky said, stepping closer to the duo and now recognizing the brunette too. "Fuck, and that's-"

"Morello." Alex's mind was racing, should they help them? Or just go home and pretend like nothing happened. She didn't have time to think much because Nicky, who was now walking towards them, seem to have already made a decision.

* * *

"Lorna!"

The Italian girl's heart was racing now, she knew that voice so well. The way it sounded when she called her name, whenever she saw the girl or scared the girl or made love to the girl. But where did it come from? When she finally did spot the woman she has shared oh so many memories with, she felt light headed.

"Nicky.." The short woman whispered.

"Hey, look out!" A man from the other field shouted.

"Wha-," Lorna's sentence got abruptly cut off by a tennis ball that hit her between her perfectly arched eye brow and her hairline. The hit knocked her out and a crowd was being formed in a perfect circle surrounding the two unconscious women.


	6. Litchfield, June 12, 2013

**[Author's note: I am gonna be honest with y'all...I think I love you. No but on a serious note; I LOVE reading your reviews or seeing that someone has favorited/followed me/my work. Your support means a lot to me and please do share your thoughts/ideas/corrections. Enjoy!]**

_Litchfield, June 12, 2013_

It had been a month since Lorna Morello arrived, and it had been a month since Nicky's gotten laid. She refuses to pursue other women._ It's not like I have feelings for this girl, I just like the chase._

She had been close to kissing the girl, multiple times actually. And every time she could have sworn she saw lust in the Italian girl's eyes only to pull away after.

Nicky thinks about the shorter girl more than she'd like to admit. She wants her body to be covered with the girl's red lipstick marks and she wants to know what her name sounds like coming from the moaning mouth of the girl that had been on Nicky's minds.

"Hey Junkie, you are drooling," Boo said with an amused smirk on her face while entering Nicky's bunk.

"Jesus Boo, you scared the shit outta me."

"So who has been making lil Nicky here drool?," Boo asked while wiggling her eye brows.

"No one, just thinking about dinner that's all. Tonight's Taco Night." Nicky suppressed an annoyed moan. _Fuck, has it been that obvious?_

"Right, I believe you. You are indeed thinking about eating, but it's not eating tacos, Nichols." Boo laughed, knowing Nichols too well.

"No, seriously. I am thinking about tacos, Boo." Nicky laughed, throwing her pillow at Boo, who ducked in time.

"Yeah, Morello's taco." Boo said, who was now smirking victoriously, after seeing Nicky's reaction.

"Wha-No. Well..okay fine. But don't go running your mouth about it, I am trying to tap that."

Boo sighed. "Son, you are Nicky Nichols, as much as I hate to admit this, you are somehow irresistible to our fellow inmates. You wink and bras come off, you lick your lips and pussies are flooding, you do both and people rip your clothes off of your body. Why is it so hard to score some Morello muffin lovin."

"I don't know! It's like she is immune to my sexiness, I mean who doesn't want a piece of this." Nicky said, motioning to her body.

"I'll pass." Boo said, looking displeased. "Anyway, what was the reason she left you blue balling?"

"She doesn't want to cheat on her fiancee." Nicky said, with a disgusted face. Nicky never met the poor guy but she already hated his guts. He can just call that beauty his and fuck her brains out when she gets out. Somehow the whole Calling-Her-His part hurt more than the latter, but Nicky was not planning to admit that.

"Just say that prison sex doesn't count. Or lesbian sex. Or lesbian prison sex, that would convince her for sure."

"I don't know, Boo.."

"Alright well have fun with your lil dry spell then, Nichols." Boo said, while turning around laughing and leaving the wild haired woman's bunk.

* * *

"Oh Lorna, I don't know," the blonde replied to her Italian friend.

"Why not? You are single, she is single. You are hot, she is hot. You give her bedroom eyes, and she gladly returns them." Lorna stated like it's simple math.

"She worked for a drug cartel, and she probably isn't interested in me. I mean out of all the women in this prison, why me? She is kinda a big deal here, people refer to her as 'the hot one', Lorna."

"Then they must refer to Nicky as 'the steamin' one'." Lorna said softly, not aware that Piper heard her.

"Oh my god, Lorna." Piper gasped.

"What?" Lorna asked, hoping her blonde friend didn't hear her.

"You like her, don't you! You like Nichols, oh my god! I can't belie-" Piper shouted but was now cut off by Lorna's hand that was now covering the blonde's mouth.

"Shhttt, Pipes! Please keep your voice down." The Italian girl pleaded.

Only after Piper nodded hard with an amused glint in her eyes, Lorna pulled her hand away.

"Well do you? I mean like Nicky." Piper whispered.

"I don't know! She is very beautiful, Piper. And hot. And beautifully hot." Lorna said, staring at the floor.

"And she makes me feel all funny, like right here in my tummy, and...sometimes the funny feelings head South.." Lorna said, leading her hands in a wavy motion near her lower belly.

"Do you think you"ll...you know" Piper said, making a scissor motion with both her index and middle finger intertwined, while still having a hard time wiping her grin off her face.

"Piper!" Lorna gasped, which only made Piper laugh.

"What? This is perfect. Me and Alex and you and-"

"Christopher." Lorna interrupted.

"Lorna, you know that's not-" Piper tried, but was cut off by Lorna again.

"Yeah but they don't know that!" Lorna said, while having trouble hiding the panic in her voice.

"Who doesn't know what?" Nicky said entering the bunks of the girls, startling them slightly.

"Nothing important, Nichols." Lorna said, trying to ignore Piper's glares.

"Okay, by the way Chapman, Vause is looking for you in the laundry room." Nicky said, sitting next to Lorna, with one arm on the shorter woman'a shoulder.

"Oh okay, well I better be going then." Piper said with a bright smile then left the bunk. The thought of the tall dark haired woman always had that effect on her.

Nicky laughed when she saw the blonde practically run towards the laundry room.

"What is so funny, ma'am?" Lorna asked, leaning against the wall on her bed.

"I lied. Vause didn't ask for her, I just wanted to be alone with you." Nicky said, while tucking Lorna's hair behind her ear. "I hope you don't mind that." Nicky said, leaning in closer and gently placing a kiss behind Lorna's ear.

_The funny feelings are acting up again._"Do that again." Nicky happily obeyed placing a second kiss at the spot she knew drove the younger woman wild.

Lorna wanted Nicky to do more things to her, so much more, but she didn't want to show her enthusiasm. She wanted to keep her happily engaged image safe.

"Lorna, can I kiss you?" She heard the older woman say.

"I just-I want you to know that I think about you. A lot. I really want to make you feel good." Nicky said, with a soft raspy voice.

_This woman will be the end of me._ "Nick, I am not..we have had this talk a bunch of times now."

Nicky sighed. "Well okay, I guess I just saw things then that weren't there. Because I could have sworn you were into me too."

"No, hun I am sorry." Lorna said rubbing her hands lovingly on Nicky's.

Nicky groaned. Why did she always do this to herself, she knew the Italian girl was going to give this answer.

"We're still cool though? I don't want things to get weird between us." Nicky said, trying to read Lorna by looking deeply in her eyes.

"Mega cool." Lorna smiled.

"That is actually very uncool." Nicky laughed, pushing Lorna in a playful manner to which Lorna pushed back and the two ended up in a push and pull and tickle fest.

* * *

"Alex!" Piper shouted when she spotted the tall girl in the laundry room.

"Girl, you alright?" Alex chuckled shaking her head while folding white underwear.

"Yeah, I am here. So what did you wanna discuss with me?" Piper said, still trying to catch her breath.

"Ehm...nothing. Who said I wanted to discuss stuff with you?" Alex furrowed her brows.

"Oh...well Nicky-"

"Lemme guess, Lorna was there too?" Alex asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, yeah-"

"Girl, she wanted to spend some time with Bambi, that's why she told you that."

"Ohhhh...well I guess I am not needed here." Piper said, giving a weak smile, trying to hide her disappointment and turned around to walk away.

"Wait, kid. You can stay, I don't mind. You are good company." Alex said, smiling at the blonde.

* * *

"Ma, I need your advice." Nicky said, startling the woman she sees as her real mom.

"Christ...Nicky you scared me." The Russian woman said, picking up a box of potatoes and putting it on the counter.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Nicky chuckled, her arms crossed over her chest as she watches her mother peel potatoes.

"Sure, Nicky what do you want? Is this about your mysterious itch, I gave you ointment for it. Was it effective?"

"Wha- No, no. I mean, yes. It was effective, thank you mommy." Nicky sweetly replied.

"Okay if this isn't about your itch, it's about a girl. A very small girl. With red lipstick and puppy eyes. Am I right?" Red said smirkingly._Oh, I know. Mothers always know._

"How? Am I that obvious? Fuck. Well alright, but don't tell Gina or Norma. Especially Norma, we all know how much she loves to run her mouth." Nicky said, frustrated because apparently she is an open book.

Red laughed. "Oh, dumb daughter of mine. Come here." Nicky approached her like a defeated child only to be hugged by the older woman like a mother hugs her stubborn daughter.

"Now peel these while you rant to me about how her lipstick compliments her eyes, or how you wanna take her out to dinner and eat spaghetti with her like that Disney movie with the two dogs which will lead to you know.." Red made kissing sounds in the air which only made Nicky groan but at the same time she can't hide her widening grin.

* * *

"No way! You went to Paris?" Piper said, sitting on the table that held a few stacks of folded shirts, underwear and socks.

"Yeah, I did. And the whole women-not-shaving-their-pits myth? Not true. But the lower department though.." Alex leaned in closer, lowering her voice.

"No way." Piper whispered, looking horrified. To which Alex licked her lips and smirked. "Yeah way."

"I sometimes wonder how Nicky's lower department looks like. Like if she lets things grow, does her bush down there looks like a tiny replica of what's on top of her head?" Piper said, trying to imagine what it must look like, laughing at the image as it entered her mind.

"You thinking about Nicky's bush a lot, Chapman?" Alex said, feeling amused.

"No that's more Lorna's thing. Fuck- I mean...because Lorna is really into hair of course, she knows how to make tiny curlers out of toilet paper, did you know that and-"

"Piper, it's okay. Can I let you in on a secret?" Alex said, whispering into the blonde's ear.

Piper nodded hard. "Yes please."

"Nicky thinks about Lorna's bush too, if you know what I mean." Piper furrowed her brows only to relax them once the realization hit her.

"Ohhhh...so she likes Lorna too." Piper smiled.

"Yup, oh and by the way Nichols always removes her bush, so we will never know what it will look like when it's in its full glory. Sorry." Alex said, sarcastically giving Piper a sad tight lipped smile which made Piper chuckle.

"Oh wow, I didn't know you and Nicky had a few...moments." Piper said, carefully choosing her words, trying to mask her hurt at the same time.

"Me and Nicky? God no!" Alex said, laughing out loud and if that isn't the most beautiful and sexiest sound Piper has ever heard she doesn't know what is.

"It's just that well, Nicky isn't shy when it comes to body exposure and we share a bunk. I have seen her pale ass as many times as I have seen her dumb face." Alex said, looking traumatized.

"Shit, Alex I don't need that image in my head, thank you." Piper said, laughing and shaking her head.

"Yeah you would rather have an image of Nicky's bush instead of her ass in your head, huh?" Alex said, winking, then wiggling her eye brows.

"Oh fuck you, Alex!" Piper said, amusement in her voice and eyes.

"Okay." Alex said seriously, after the laughter had died down.

"Ehm..what?" Piper chuckled nervously.

Alex walked towards the blonde until they were face to face and leaned in to kiss the girl who still sat on the table. Their lips met and it was Piper who opened her mouth slightly to give Alex's tongue entrance. The blonde moaned at the feeling of their soft tongues massaging which made Alex chuckle, but not break contact.

Alex hands found a way on Piper's bare back, underneath the blonde's shirt, and with very experienced hands, unclasped the bra in one try.

"Hmm...mnot there," Piper managed to say between the heated kisses.

Alex just nodded and picked up the girl, each hand holding a thigh, and lifted the blonde from the table and carried her to the closest utility closet.

The two didn't even care about anyone seeing them, they had only eyes for each other. They didn't saw the disapproving look from Pensatucky and the cat calls made by Tricia.

* * *

"Yo, Nicky! Wait up!" The girl with the neck tattoo was now running trying to get to the wild haired woman she saw as her sister.

"Ayy, lil Trish. What's up?" Nicky said, putting her arm around the young girl's shoulder as they made their way to the rec room.

"Yo, I just saw Vause and your lover's blonde bestie sucking faces."

"What." Nicky said, stopping abruptly in the hallway, not even caring to correct Tricia about Lorna not being her 'lover'. _Nice, Vause. You did it, you dog. _Nicky thought with a proud smirk.

"Yeah man, and guess what? Mercy put out last night too, it's like sex is in the air or somethin'." The younger girl said, with a beaming smile.

"Yup, except over here, kiddo. It's drier than the freaking Sahara in Nicky town if you know what I mean." Nicky said, sighing loudly.

"Maybe you need to like win her over, like take her on a date or some shit."

"Okay, Romeo...except that we are in prison." Nicky said opening her arms wide to stress their location.

"Well yeah, but you can get creative." Tricia tried, thinking hard but lost all focus when she saw Mercy walk by.

"A-anyway, I know you got this, Nick. Bye!" Nicky saw the girl running after her crush. _Hmm...getting creative, huh?_


	7. New York May 14, 2023

**[Author's note: I wasn't planning to update so quickly, so thank user Nicky Morello. So without further a do, here's chapter 7. And as always, leave a review/fave/follow, y'all are the best! Enjoy! X]**

_New York, May 14, 2023_

"Move! Fucking move, people!" Nicky yelled, pushing the useless bystanders away.

"Lorna!"

Nicky fell down her knees next to Lorna, cradling the woman she had once been able to call hers, cupping the face she loves so very much.

"Lorna, can you hear me? Open your eyes. Lorna!"

* * *

Bright lights blinded the Italian girl, she didn't know where she was.

She walked aimlessly in a white empty area that had nothing but a mirror. She made her way to the mirror, and saw her reflection wearing a white dress that suited her perfectly, only making her red lips pop more.

She smirked to herself, she knew she looked good. The bright room got less bright and Lorna could now see where she was. She was in front of a bathroom mirror she knew oh so well. She was back in Litchfield.

Out of the corner of her eyes, in the mirror reflection she could see Nicky leaving a bathroom stall with one of the Spanish girls while sporting a lazy grin which meant they had sex for sure.

After checking out the Spanish girl's ass one last time, Nicky turned around and washed her hands, completely ignoring Lorna.

"Nicky-"

"Don't. Okay? I am not a fucking jacket that you can hang in your closet and wear it whenever you want to." Nicky angrily washed her hands, her gaze only directed at her hands.

Lorna couldn't look at Nicky anymore, she felt like crying. She looked back at her reflection, noticing small dark red spots on her perfectly white dress.

"Is that bl-blood?" Lorna thought out loud, her voice not sounding louder than a soft broken whisper.

"It's wine, you klutz."

"Don't you remember what happened? Open your eyes." Nicky said, stepping closer to the short woman.

Lorna suddenly had an intense head ache, she felt like her head might actually explode. The place between her eyebrow and her hairline was throbbing. She suddenly remembers picking out the dress with Piper to go to a party or something. _Piper, you wine drinking klutz, you spilled it on me._ Lorna remembers clearly now.

"Open your eyes, Lorna." Nicky repeated, cupping Lorna's face now, in the filthy bathroom they spent so much time in.

* * *

"Lorna, please."

The raspy voiced woman held the younger woman close to her body. She could feel Lorna's heart beat and that was all the comfort she needed. She studied the Italian girl's face closely, the perfectly arched eye brows, the Bambi like eye lashes, the cute ears she had used to tuck her hair behind as a calming trick, the full red lips that entertained her with sweet nothings and hurried pecks. Nicky smiled to herself, the woman that held her heart the minute she laid her eyes on her, was now in her arms, looking peaceful but very still. Too still for Nicky's liking, which made her uncomfortable because she knows that even in Lorna's sleep, the girl is a restless sleeper, so she is never this still.

"Open your eyes, you are scaring me, Lorna." Nicky said, a single tear leaving her hazel eyes after being held back for too long.

As the tear dropped on Lorna's cheek, the shorter woman furrowed her brows and slowly tried to open her eyes.

The first thing Lorna saw were two very sad looking brown orbs that she knew all too well, followed by a few freckles and a lot of hair.

"Hey, you." Nicky softly said, giving her signature smirk to hide her worried state.

"Hi.." Lorna smiled back, then tried to sit up but failing miserably.

"Whoa..calm down. You shouldn't be moving at all. Lemme carry you." Nicky said as she used both of her arms to scoop the girl into her arms and then stood up, noticing the amount of bystanders decreasing, probably because the worst scenario didn't happen. _Sensation seeking fucks._

"Oh great, you also on carry duty?" Alex said, with a very drunk and asleep Piper in her arms.

"You really don't have to-" Lorna tried but was shushed by Nicky almost immediately.

"None of you two are in the position to drive right now, so stay at our place tonight, until you are both fit again, no funny business." Nicky laughed, gaining an eye roll from Lorna.

When they got in the car with Nicky driving, Lorna in the passenger seat and Alex and Piper in the backseat, with Alex holding the blonde and helping her whenever she needed to vomit into a plastic bag.

"Ehm can you speed up a lil, Nichols. We are running out of plastic bags here." Alex said, while sporting a disgusted face.

The look on Alex's face was incredibly funny to the women sitting in the front seats. Nicky felt her heart strings tug when she heard Lorna's giggle. _God how I have missed that sound._ It reminded Nicky of the good ol' days when her and Lorna would hold hands and run and giggle down the hallways of Litchfield, carefully avoiding CO's or nosy fellow inmates, stealing pecks and sneaking into utility closets.

She couldn't believe the woman she had no trouble dying for was actually sitting next to her, looking out the window, probably not knowing what to do with the silence that ruled the car ride so far, either.

Nicky wanted to touch Lorna so badly, not even in the I-Wanna-Make-You-Cum kinda way, well maybe that too, but mostly just in a Dear-God-Please-Be-Actually-Real-This-Time-Instead-Of-Another-Cruel-Dream-Again kinda way. She wanted to drag her nails slightly over her arm and to feel her goose bumps against hers just like they used to do when they explored each others body in the cold chapel.

The memories, her presence, the strong smell of vomit all became a little too real for Nicky, so as always she looked for distraction. She turned the radio on, the radio station started playing 'All Of Me' and Nicky got lost in the lyrics, she couldn't believe how perfect the song described everything she felt for the girl sitting next to still looked out of the window, not moving, and Nicky silently wished the song had the same effect on Lorna as it had on Nicky.

_***What's going on in that beautiful mind..***_ _If only I knew._ Nicky thought.

* * *

When Nicky parked the car in their street, she saw Alex carrying Piper out of the car. Nicky always thought they made an excellent couple, Piper has the rare ability to bring out the softie in Vause.

"Aw, fuck." She could hear Lorna swear on the opposite site of the car, she fell down on her knees on the sidewalk. Nicky rushed to her side, helping her stand up.

Lorna had slightly tried to push Nicky away. "I am fine, honestly. I am just a little bit dizzy still, that's all."

"Lorna, let me help you. Stop fighting me woman, you can't even stand properly." Nicky softly chuckled, giving the shorter woman a warm smile.

"O-okay, sure. Thank you." Lorna said in a genuine tone, as she allowed herself to be carried to the apartment by the woman that she hurt so many times.

A few stairs later and a lot of complaints from the neighbors about Piper's drunk singing skills, they stepped into their apartment.

Nicky as well as Alex both put down their girls on their comfortable living room sofa.

"You feel like throwing up again, Piper?" Alex asked the blonde in a worried tone. To which Piper nodded hard, trying to keep it all in until they got to a bathroom. "Fuck, kid." Alex said as she quickly lifted the blonde from the sofa and got her to the bathroom.

In the meanwhile Nicky disappeared in the kitchen and Lorna studied the apartment, while dealing with a killer headache, not moving from the sofa.

"So, we are out of ice blocks but I found a packet of frozen peas if that's okay." Nicky said as she walked in the living room, holding a the packet.

"That's fine, Nicky. Honestly, thanks. For everything." Lorna said, accepting the frozen peas that Nicky handed her and putting it against the source of her pain, which made Nicky laugh.

"Ha ha ha, very funny. Gosh, I probably look ridiculous right now." Lorna said, failing to hide her smile.

"Ridiculously beautiful." Nicky said, which resulted in an uncomfortable silence. Lorna probably looked everywhere in the room except at the woman that was now lighting a cigarette.

_She looks so good, so happy and healthy._ Lorna thought but her thoughts were interrupted by Nicky.

"Lorna.." Nicky began, but hesitated. _Fuck it, if I don't ask for answers now I might never get them._

"Hmm.." Lorna encouraged as she put the frozen peas down, looking into Nicky's eyes, knowing that she is struggling to finish her sentence.

"Why did you never visit me after you got out?" Lorna internally winced, a pang of guilt from her past hitting her like a ton of bricks.

"Or you know..respond to my many many letters." Nicky said as her hand that held her cigarette started to slightly shake involuntarily. She could feel herself getting emotional and she did everything in her power to hide the hurt behind her words.

"Or even something as simple as answering the phone, I used all my calls on you, and you did not even have the audacity to answer them. Not once." Nicky said, more hurt than angry.

Lorna thought about reaching out or hugging the girl, but she wasn't sure if it would make things better or worse so instead she just sat and looked at the woman who was now lighting her second cigarette. She

started to shift uncomfortably in her seat and thought about the times she had to resist picking up her phone or replying to Nicky's letters. She thought that in time it would be easier to resist, it never did.

"You can't even answer me right now, I guess I don't deserve to be replied to or hear the truth." Nicky said in a bitter tone.

"Fuck you, Nichols. You know that's not the case." Lorna said, fresh tears stinging her eyes.

"Then what is it, you were a shitty girlfriend, but you were an even shittier friend after things ended between us." Nicky accused.

"Has it _ever_ occurred to you that _maybe _I didn't want to see you or talk to you or write to you because it hurt too much?" Lorna said, standing up, supporting her weight with her hand placed on top of the sofa.

"Oh that's funny because you said something totally different in the one letter you did send me." When Nicky saw the confused look on Lorna's face, she was hurt, possibly even more hurt than when she read the letter she got from the girl in front of her. _Are you serious, Lorna? Don't you even remember sending me the letter that nearly killed me? Do I mean that little to you? _Nicky thought as she clenched her jaw to keep her from crying.

"What are you talking about, Nicky? What letter? I never send you a letter." Lorna said, desperately trying to convince the older woman. A part of her confused and another part of her scared, what if she blocked that out of her memory? What if she is still a psycho?

"What is going on here? Can you quit the yelling before the neighbors hear us?" Alex said, looking sternly at the women in the living room.

"I put Piper in my bed and that's where you will be sleeping too, Lorna. You and Piper in my room and me and Nicky in hers, lemme show you where it's at. I just gave Piper my pajamas, but because you are shorter, Nicky here will be giving you a pair of pajamas," Alex said, guiding Lorna to her room as she gave Nicky a Pull-Yourself-Together glare.

* * *

"Can you believe all of this is actually happening?" Lorna said to Piper while undressing herself, because she is sure that by now Nicky probably forgot about giving her things to wear.

"What do you want to do when we go home tomorrow? Do you still want to see them?"

"Absolutely not, it's too much." Lorna said, in her bra and undies, thinking about the conversation she just had with Nicky. What letter was she talking about?

"I don't wear pajamas but here are shorts and an old t shirt you can use-" Nicky said walking in on the women, stopping when she saw the sight of a half naked Lorna Fucking Morello.

Piper laughed out loud, oh how she has missed the typical moments between these two.

Lorna walked towards Nicky, arms crossed over her chest in a self conscious way.

"Thanks, Nichols. Gimme dat." Lorna said, while trying to grab the clothes that Nicky was now holding tight to, her gaze not leaving Lorna's chest.

When Nicky finally did let go, the shorter girl nearly fell backwards.

"Okay, thanks Nichols. You can leave now." Lorna said wearing the shirt.

"Yeah okay, well good night. Today has been quite an adventure, don't let the bed bugs bite and all that shit." Nicky said, still standing there.

"Good night, Nicky." Lorna said, turning around. _She wants to see my ass, that fucking pig._ Lorna smiled to herself, relieved that at least some things will never change.

Nicky gave one last half smile and closed the bedroom door. _Nice ass._

* * *

"Jesus Nicky how do you sleep here." Alex said, shifting uncomfortably in Nicky's bed.

"I just lie down and close my eyes, what else am I supposed to do."

"Clean your fucking bed, are those bread crumbs?" Alex said, regretting the bedroom choice she has made.

"Yeah well sometimes I like a grilled cheese sandwich when I'm on my laptop, that is ketchup by the way and not period blood." Nicky said pointing to a red stain near Alex.

"Dammit, Nicky. And what's this? A cross word puzzle?" Alex said pulling out a little book beneath her before throwing it off the bed.

"I like to keep my brains stimulated, sue me."

"And what is-Oh god this better not be what I think it is." Alex silently prayed she was wrong but when she felt the tiny device vibrate, she sighed an stood up.

"What? I like to keep other things stimulated too." Nicky said shruggling, laughing at her friend's response.

"I am sleeping on the sofa." Alex said, grabbing a spare blanket and pillow and stepped into the living room. On her way to the living room, she heard a voice she knew too well talking, whispering actually.

"Yeah, I will be home tomorrow. Love you too, baby. So much." Piper said into her phone not aware that Alex was outside of the bathroom, her heart breaking once again.

When Piper walked in the living room, she didn't expect Alex to be sat on the sofa with a blanket and a pillow.

"Hey" Piper greeted, snapping Alex out of her thoughts.

"Hey kid." Alex said, giving a half smile.

"Nicky kicked you out or what?" Piper asked, sitting next to Alex.

"I left her room myself, to prevent me from catching weird diseases. She is a pig. Her room is violating all health codes." Alex ranted but then turned her attention to the blonde sitting next to her whose hair was in a messy bun, and who was wearing Alex's faded Nirvana shirt and shorts. _Fuck, she looks beautiful._

"So what happened to you? Did Lorna kick you out?" Alex asked.

"Kicking me out? No. Kicking me? Yes. She is such a restless sleeper, I am sure I am gonna wake up tomorrow with mysterious bruises." Piper sighed.

"Well we don't want that now do we?" Alex said, leaning in to kiss the girl but stopped herself thinking about the phone conversation she had with her partner in the bathroom. _She loves someone else._

So instead Alex leaned in to kiss her cheek and pulled away quickly.

"I really don't want you to wake up with bruises." Alex said, suggesting something else.

"And I don't want you to catch weird diseases." Piper said, playing along.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking?" Piper asked, chuckling.

"Yup, you have to do me the honor of being my little spoon again, tonight." Alex said, lying down with her back firmly against the sofa, to make enough space in the front for a certain Piper Chapman.

Piper laid in front of her, feeling Alex's protective strong arms sneaking from behind surrounding her waist.

They both closed their eyes and fell asleep peacefully in minutes.

* * *

Lorna woke up in the middle of the night with a dry throat and a full bladder.

She sat up on Alex's bed and noticed Piper wasn't next to her.

"Pipes?" Lorna asked in the dark with no reply back.

She got up and made her way to the bathroom, checking the living room first to find a sleeping Piper in Alex's arms. The image made her smile, and she continued to walk to the bathroom.

She walked in, turned the lights on and dropped her shorts, and sat on the cold toilet. After she got used to the cold she felt her body relax and released herself.

"When the lights out, it's less dangerous.." Lorna heard a sudden singing voice, a voice she knew very well and when she saw the amount of hair walking in the bathroom, her expectations were confirmed.

"Nicky! What the fuck?" Lorna said, covering her frontal area.

"Why so shy, Morello? You used to shit in front of me, you remember that?" Nicky said with a sleep filled voice, filling a cup with water and drinking it slowly.

"Yeah that used to be the case, and I am not shitting, I am peeing. So could you please turn around or leave the bathroom?" Lorna said, annoyed. She could have sworn Nicky always walked in on the worst times, or probably in her mind the best times.

"Yeah yeah." Nicky said turning around, hearing Lorna pee._ Even her pee sounds cute._

After wiping and flushing Lorna washed her hands. "I can't sleep. I wanna sit down in the living room and watch some TV but Alex and Piper are asleep on the sofa."

"What?" _Vause, how do you do it?_

"I don't even know why Piper left the bed in the first place!" Lorna said, thinking hard.

"Well probably because she didn't want her head to be karate chopped. You are a restless sleeper, kid. Its like you keep having dreams about winning a break dance competition or something. Yeah..remember the first time we slept together..." Gaining a look from Lorna. "No...I mean literally sleep next to each other. Yeah you don't realize it but while you were you know, bustin your moves for this dream break dance competition, you kept waving your arms from side to side, I got repeatedly slapped!" Lorna laughed out loud.

"Well, I am glad you find it humorous, you always had a sick sense of humor." Nicky said chuckling."But hey, I have got a Netflix account so if you want we could watch a movie on my laptop in my room." Nicky said, relieved that she just changed her sheets and cleaned her room the past half hour.

"Right, but no romantic ones or horror ones." Lorna said, eyeing Nicky suspiciously.

"That is fine, we can watch a comedy." Nicky said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Okay, yeah that sounds good." Lorna said, but her voice was overpowered by the noises her stomach was making.

"Oh god, the beast is awake!" Nicky said, almost forgetting about the fact that this tiny woman in front of her can eat like a starved out army of soldiers.

Lorna buried her face in her hands, she forgot about eating. She didn't have time to eat and was planning go attack the buffet at the wedding rehearsal which obviously didn't happen.

"Come on, Morello. I can make a rocking mac and cheese dish. Your fave." Nicky said winking at the tiny woman, putting an arm around her and guiding her to the kitchen.

When they finally sat on Nicky's bed, the bed was filled with all kinds of snacks. From chips to chocolate to mac and cheese and soda.

"I can't imagine the last time I had junk food." Lorna said leaning against Nicky while she was starting up "White Chicks", throwing a few M&amp;Ms in her mouth.

"Well welcome to my life, kid." Nicky said, her gaze still focused on the screen.

"How do you even stay in such good shape with the amount of crap you put into your body? Not that I was checking you out.." Nicky just smirked, amusement written all over face.

"Well I work out a lot, a different work out buddy every night, you know me." Nicky said, chuckling and turning to face the screen again.

"Yeah...I do." Lorna said with a distracted look on her face, Nicky didn't want to ask her about it.

When the Lionsgate tune filled Nicky's room, she adjusted the way she sat, so she was comfortable.

"I can't see, your hair is in the way." Lorna said, trying to tuck some hair behind Nicky's ear.

"Thats my trick, kid. Jesus, come here." Nicky said, welcoming Lorna to sit in front of her, when Lorna did just that, Nicky relaxed her chin on the woman's shoulder. She could feel Lorna's body relax, and she kissed Lorna's neck quickly which earned a friendly smile from Lorna, then rested her chin again on the Italian girl's shoulder.

They don't remember who slept first or which part they were at of the movie, but they do know that Lorna slept peacefully,because the bowls of snacks weren't knocked over in the morning. Lorna never slept restlessly whenever she slept with Nicky's protective arms around her.


	8. Litchfield June 12, 2013

**[Author's note: Thanks for the support! Sorry I kept y'all waiting, but to make it up, here is a longer chapter. As always: Review/Follow/Fave because they keep me motivated. Enjoy!] **

_Litchfield. June 12, 2013_

"So...that was unexpected. Had I known we were gonna have sex, I would have shaved my legs." Piper said jokingly while putting her shirt back on.

"Are you kidding me? Your hairy legs kept my ears warm while I went down on you, it's very practical." Alex said, walking towards Piper and pulling her into a hug.

"I can get used to this." Piper thought out loud, while listening to the tall woman's heart beat and sighing happily.

* * *

"Ah yes, hi..." Lorna greeted nervously into the phone.

"Dear God, you are never gonna stop, are you?

"No, no I-"

"Are you?" Christopher's voice sounding louder and louder, to the point that it caused Lorna's ear to physically ache. "Even behind bars, you still continue to harass me. When will it end? When will your pea sized brain catch up on the fact that I don't want you! No one does. And it's all your fault. Your beauty is just a trap, you are a crazy psychotic dangerous woman, they should just shoot people like you, you are a danger to society. Everything you touch damages, no one will love-" Lorna's rich tears were now flowing over her reddened cheeks, she had trouble breathing. _He is right. I am a crazy person. I don't deserve to live. God, no one will love me. _Lorna was now sobbing and running towards the bathroom. Every quick step felt like a stab in her wounded heart. When she got the bathroom, it was luckily empty, she locked herself in the only stall with a door, sat on the seat and started to cry her heart out. Her uncontrolled sobs were only interrupted now and then by gasps of breath. _Don't let anyone in, stop ruining people's life. You have ruined Christopher's life, you have ruined Piper's life, and you are about to ruin Nicky's. _Lorna thought over and over again, making a decision to protect herself and others.

* * *

_June 13, 2013_

"Come on, come on, come on...hurry up!" Nicky said, guiding Red, Alex, Boo and Tricia into the nearest utility closet, holding a large notebook.

"Okay now sit." Nicky said, eyeing the hallway before she locks the door and turns on the light.

"Nicky what is going on, I need to do the dishes." Red said suspiciously.

"I feel like I'm in a mob or some shit." Tricia added.

"You guys are here because you are my friends and I need you." Nicky said, nervously.

"Is it about that mysterious itch down there you had a while ago?" Boo asked, causing a discussion in the group with Tricia and Alex reminiscing the way Nicky walked when she had the itch and Red laughing along and talking about her magical ointment.

"No..no and stop talking about the damn itch!" Nicky said, her loud voice silencing the group.

Nicky sighed. "This is gonna come as a big surprise for some of you but I really really like Morello."

"No?!" Alex said, faking her shock, causing the group to burst in laughter.

"Well it's a good thing I am sitting down." Red said, not impressed.

"What's next? Your coming out speech?" Boo added.

"Stop being cunts, I am serious. I wanna you know...like make an appointment with her to do fun things that hopefully may lead to something more..."

"You want to take her on a date?" Alex asked, not sure how her friend is gonna arrange that in here.

"No, haven't you been listening? I want to arrange an appointment to get to know each other more and do fun things which will hopefully lead to more." Nicky repeated, rolling her eyes.

"That's a date, you just literally described a date." Alex said, face palming first.

"Okay fine, I want to take Morello on a date. I want to wow her and-"

"Then pow her?" Boo said, wiggling her eye brows, causing the group to chuckle, except Red who kept track of time, thinking about her dishes.

Nicky sighed. "Forget about it, meeting dismissed."

"No, no come on, Nick. You can do this, just open your lame notebook and show us what you have got planned." Only when Nicky didn't find the slightest bit of sarcasm in Boo's voice, she decided to continue.

"Well okay.." Nicky opened her note book. "Dinner. I thought I would take her out on a nice dinner and-"

"I can do that, what's next." Red said, motioning to hurry up.

"What? How?"

"I am in charge of the kitchen, Nicky. I can improvise with leftovers." Red explained.

"I can probably get you romantic candles and shit, I will grab some from the chapel." Tricia added, earning a look from the group.

"What? I will return it eventually." Tricia said, laughing.

"Well, wow..thanks. For the second part of the date I want to have a nice walk outside, in the dark so we can see the stars." Nicky said, mentally slapping herself because she knows she sounds like a romantic fool.

"Lame, but manageable. Me and Boo can go on the look out for the guards while you guys explore the wonders of the galaxy." Alex said with a wicked smirk.

"So Nichols, you do realize this whole 'date' is just a romanticized version of left over prison food and a walk within these fences." Boo explained.

"Give the girl a break, young lovers in the prison system don't have much choice." Red defended.

"Morello doesn't even like you like that, you told me this yourself, son. I don't want you to get hurt, well at least not like this because this isn't even entertaining, its starting to become sad." Boo said, before Alex jumped in.

"Well actually...a blonde birdie told me something else..." Alex sang amusingly.

"What?" Nicky's eyes shot open. "Vause tell me what you know..."

* * *

A few hours have passed since Lorna's intense crying sessions. She lied down on her bunk bed, under the covers, just thinking about today's events. She felt so tired but the loud words of the man who once occupied her heart and mind were keeping her up. She had been avoiding Nicky today, whenever she saw the fluffy haired woman in the hallway, she successfully managed to get lost in the crowd. She skipped dinner to not face her friends but she knows its useless, she can't keep skipping meals without drawing serious attention and she can't ignore Piper, that is the last thing her blonde friend deserved.

"Pipes, you asleep yet?" Lorna whispered.

"No Lorn, what's up?" Piper said, turning around to face her smaller friend.

Lorna got up and got in Piper's bed, which her blonde friend didn't mind at all and made more space for the Italian girl.

They stayed like that for a while until Lorna broke the silence.

"I called him."

Piper didn't even had to guess who 'him' was.

"Shit, Lorna...you can't do that, sweetheart." Piper said, compassion in her voice.

"I just wanted to hear his voice...but he is not, he never was-" Lorna was trying to tell her blonde friend that Christopher is definitely in the past now and that he was absolutely not the man she thought he was, but the sobs wouldn't let her. But Piper knew, she always knew what went through the Italian girl's mind. She held Lorna until she calmed down.

"So what now? This is an entire new chapter for you, you have to make the best of it." Piper said looking into her best friend's eyes.

"I am done with Christopher. And love. And friendship." Which earned a look from Piper.

"Lorna, you can't shut me out like that, I won't allow it, okay?" Piper said, hugging the girl that wasn't returning the hug.

"But why? I am the reason you are here, I am-"

"Okay stop. Being in here is no ones fault but my own. You didn't force me to do anything, I willingly joined you. Was it dumb? Yes. Do I regret it? Yes. But me being in here isn't your fault. You being in here is your fault, we all are responsible for our own crap. Alright?"

The Italian girl let out a relieved sigh and nodded while a last tear escaped her left eye, but Piper wiped it away quickly.

"Now. You wanna know something juicy?"

"God yes, these gossip mags in this place are so old." Lorna said, as she leaned her chin on her palm, while she supported her weight on her elbow.

"Alex and I had sex." Piper said with a very prominent grin.

"Well well well, Chapman. Guess you got yourself a prison wife." Lorna said and the two girls laughed on the same mattress, just like they used to do in the comfort of a teen girl's room during sleepovers.

* * *

When Alex woke up she was met with the blurry sight of a very pale ass of a certain Nicky Nichols who is shimmying her way in a pair of white cotton prison underwear.

"I thought tonight would be full moon, not this morning." Alex lazily grinned, while grabbing her glasses.

"Ah yes, good morning Vause. Notice anything different?" Nicky said with a nervous smile.

"You got new shoes? No wait thats the same pair of shoes you have been wearing since you got here. Hmm...new necklace? No...dammit just tell me." Alex said, not really in the mood to use her brains this actively this early.

"No dude, my hair! I straightened it with a flat iron from your work. I can honestly say it's the straightest thing about me now." Nicky laughed.

"Oh yeah, your head looks bigger, when half of it isn't hidden in a curly mess." Alex said jokingly while sitting up.

"Yeah whatever ass hole, I figured I'd change my look up a bit. Straight chicks, straight hair...I basically got this right?"

"Yeah, Nichols." Alex yawned while hugging a pillow. "Except...the plan here is to unstraighten things not to make it even more straight."

"It's just all a part of my master plan!" Nicky said passionately.

"Yeah yeah, you fucking lovable piece of shit." Alex said, heading towards the showers, roughing up Nicky's hair on the way, earning a disapproval groan from her never boring bunk mate.

* * *

The new look of Nicky Nichols was the talk of the day. Nicky knew it when she entered the cafeteria, causing some women to burst in laughter and others praising it.

"Yasss...slay, you look like a queen, Nichols! Work it." was being yelled at from the black ghetto's usual table, except Sophia who tried to give advice. "Flat ironing your hair can actually go very wrong, sweetheart. You can always come to me, okay?"

When Nicky got to her usual table that was mostly occupied by her usual friends she instantly regretted her new look.

It was Boo who burst out in laughter first, poking her elbow into Sister Ingalls. "Sister, Nichols need your prayers. Not even Jesus himself can fix that shit."

"Drastic changes in hairstyles is often a sign of inner restlessness. You are always welcome to join the yoga classes." Yoga added, causing Boo to crack up again.

Alex just gave a supportive wink, while Piper and Lorna looked at her like they have never seen hair before.

"Well. I think you look hot." Morello just stated, which earned a surprised look from Piper that Lorna happily ignored.

It was only after that statement that Nicky didn't care about the looks and the laughter surrounding her. Lorna Morello thought she looked hot and that was all it took for Nichols to feel her body relax and enjoy breakfast.

When they were clearing their tray, Nicky just motioned Lorna to come closer. When Lorna joined Nicky near the trashcan, Nicky exhaled.

"Look this new look was for you. I wanna take you on a date, tonight. Grab a bite, walk around, view the stars. So what do ya think, Morello?" Nicky said, giving her best puppy eyes look.

"I think...I'd like that, yeah sure." Lorna smiled and walked towards the laundry room, leaving a very dumb Nicky Nichols behind who was sporting a very dumb grin on her face.

* * *

"Finally! These shit stained underpants aren't gonna fold themselves!" 'Tucky shouted when she saw the Italian girl walk in, a few minutes late.

Ey, Jesus lover! Back off, God may have chosen you, although I kinda judge his poor selection skills, but Caputo didn't choose you to supervise us. Last time I checked we were all wearing khakis so calm your nicely shaped tits." Alex said, ending with a wink that only got on the Christian girl's nerves more.

"Thanks, Vause. You didn't have to do that." Lorna said, while grabbing a basket filled with 'clean' clothes and emptying it on the table to be folded.

"A friend of Nick is a friend of mine. I know we don't know each other that well. I know nothing bout you actually except that you are engaged and-"

"I am not. I mean not anymore. I was definitely engaged once, I just called it off!" Lorna said hurriedly.

"Relax kid...you wanna talk about it?" Alex said, not sure what to do.

"No thank you, Piper and I had a very interesting talk about it and I am just kind of seeking for distraction." Lorna explained, causing Alex to stop what she was doing.

"Lorna, she is really crazy about you. I hope you don't just see her as 'distraction' because let me tell you a few things about that weirdo. She is rude, has a big mouth that lands her in trouble a lot, is sex crazed, has the attention span of a gold fish and is impulsive as fuck. But she is also kind hearted, genuine, brutally honest, loyal, intelligent and generous. That girl has a huge heart hidden behind a big ass scar. Just give her a chance or at least be open to the possibility of her being more than just a distraction." Alex said, then continued her work.

Lorna was stunned. She knew Alex and Nicky were close but hearing the tall girl talk about Nicky, reminded her of her and Piper.

"You know, you are all she talks about lately." Lorna said, trying to sound nonchalant.

Alex looked at the Italian girl who gave her a knowing look in return. Alex chuckled while shaking her head happily.

"I wonder what those trouble makers are doing right now." Alex said, smiling.

* * *

"Chapman, for God's sake! Turn it off!" Nicky shouted as god knows how much watt went trough her short body.

"Where is the off button? This is like The Green Mile! I am scared, Nicky!" The blonde shouted, on the verge of tears. She finally did find a red "OFF" button and turned the electricity off.

"Finally...I...need...to..rest." Nicky said, exhausted and shaking. This was the last time she was going to partner up with the tall blonde.

"But hey, at least your hair is back to normal." Piper said, giving a nervous smile.

"Fuck...you...Chapman."

* * *

"What happened to your hair?" Lorna asked during lunch.

"Long story." Nicky shortly replied.

"Well actually..." Piper began but after receiving a deadly glare from the now wild haired woman she dropped it. "...it's a very long story."

"How was your workday, Morello? Had fun folding my granny panties?" Nichols chuckled.

"I did, I also used that special washing powder of yours since the basic one irritates your skin and I don't want you to get that itch again." Lorna said, scrunching her nose.

"You told her that, Vause? What the fuck man." Nicky pointed at Alex.

"Yeah I did, oh work is really fun now with Morello on my side during religious rap battles and we gossip and discuss your embarrassing moments." Alex said, high fiving Lorna.

"How was it to work with miss Perv, Pipes? I hope she hasn't traumatized you yet with her nasty stories." Alex said.

"Oh it was electrifying." Piper said, gaining confused looks except on Nicky's face who failed to hide her tiny smirk.

* * *

"Hey Morello, you ready for our date?" Nicky said, entering the girl's bunk.

"Yes, I am ready." Morello said, checking her reapplied make up in her mirror.

"Have you seen Vause, by the way? I haven't seen her since dinner, and that was two hours ago." Nicky said, as she sat on Piper's bed looking at the Italian woman.

"She is probably with Piper, the two of them are inseparable lately. I think it's kinda cute. Piper can't shut up about Vause, ya know."

"Yeah, Vause is very fond of your tall blonde friend. I prefer tiny brunettes, but whatever." Nicky cleared her throat, looking the other way, not noticing the way Lorna blushed at her words.

* * *

"I think I am falling for you." Piper said, the two of them lying naked together in the library hidden behind the history books area that no one reads, absolutely exhausted.

"Enjoy the fall." Alex smirked, lazily kissing Piper's neck.

"I am serious, Al. I am enjoying the fall but at the end I want you to catch me, I don't want to fall flat on my face." Piper said, furrowing her brows.

"Hey, I really fucking like you, Pipes." Alex softly said, not breaking eye contact. "C'mere." Alex wrapped her arms around Piper who was now resting her head on Alex's breasts.

* * *

"Hello? Red? Your customers are here, waiting for your improv left over five star meal." Nicky shouted in the kitchen, with a confused Lorna.

"Forget the meal, Nichols. It's not a big deal. We had dinner a few hours ago, anyway." Lorna said, gently tugging Nicky's arms. The touch gave Nicky goosebumps, but she pulled away quickly.

"No, look we both didn't eat much then because we wanted to save room for our romantic dinner. I am just gonna cook something real quick." Nicky said, checking the freezer.

"I didn't know you could cook." Lorna said, walking towards the girl who was now grabbing all sorts of vegetables.

"Well, I am not amazing at it, but I never killed someone with my cooking skills before, so that's good right? Do you dare to eat my food, kid?" Nicky said, pointing a carrot in Lorna's direction.

"I do." Lorna said, with a victorious smile, while grabbing the carrot at the other end, breaking it in two and taking a bite from her half.

* * *

"Miller!" Pornstache called when she saw Tricia run in the hallway.

"You aren't allowed to run in the hallway. Shot!" The voice startled the young girl who dropped the candles she hid in her sleeves.

"Theft? Haven't you learned anything? Shot!" Pornstache yelled.

"Please, they aren't-I am gonna replace them one day, I swear!"

"Like you are gonna replace those pills that I gave you to sell..." Mendez glared dangerously at the shorter woman.

"Y-yes. I promi-"

"Listen here, you little rat. This is your last chance. Take these and make sure you don't fuck it up this time." Mendez darkly whispered, giving the girl with the neck tattoo the bag of pills. "Now, move!" Miller practically ran, leaving behind the candles.

* * *

"Taste this." Nicky said, holding a wooden spoon with the sauce for the pasta in front of the shorter woman who was sitting on the counter.

Lorna leaned forward, putting her red lips to the spoon and tasted the sauce. "Not bad, for a non-Italian, Nichols. Not bad at all." Lorna said, impressed.

"Damn, dinner is almost ready and Tricia was supposed to be here with candles and shit to make it more special." Nicky said, looking around.

"I dunno, I think this is already pretty darn special." Lorna said, biting her lips, jumping off the counter and now looking into the older woman's eyes.

Nicky licked her lips, walking towards the shorter woman. "Oh, really?" She smirked.

"Yeah." And Lorna closed the gap between them, putting her arms around Nicky's neck whilst Nicky's arms were around Lorna's waist. Lorna gave Nicky a few pecks only to have them be answered by Nicky pulling away every time the kisses were about to be deepened. Nicky loved the frustrated looks on the Italian girl's face every time she pulled away.

"Nichols..." Lorna warned and it was only then that Nicky pulled Lorna even closer to her and deepened the kiss, their fronts were touching and it drove Nicky wild, she started to sneak her hand up and down the younger girl's bare sides, causing an approving moan. They were suddenly interrupted by a half broken voice.

When they turned around they saw Red, who looked rough and defeated.

"Ma? You okay?" Nicky said, walking towards her mom, followed by an equally concerned Lorna.

"It's Tricia."


	9. New York, May 15, 2023

**[Author's note: Knock knock...you guys still here? Okay, so I took a break that lasted longer than I initially thought. The good news is, I am back in writing mode. So chapters will be updated more regularly. Also, 6 days til Season 3, woo hoo! Thanks for sticking by my side and I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Chapter 10 will be uploaded soon, really soon. **

**PS: REVIEW = LOVE]**

_New York, May 15, 2023_

The next morning Lorna woke up in a random bedroom, it was very different compared to her small neat bedroom. This was one had a dark shade of purple and it wasn't totally neat but not totally messy either, it looked like a messy person's idea of a neat room. But that wasn't the only weird thing, she also felt like she wasn't lying on a mattress. She looked behind her and noticed that she wasn't lying on a mattress but on a certain curly haired woman.

When the short woman tried to get up, she felt two arms quickly sneaking around her waist, pulling her back on the bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nicky asked with a lazy grin.

"You scared the shit out of me, Nichols. If you must know, I have to visit the bathroom. You can join me, it's not like you minded hearing me pee yesterday." Lorna said sarcastically.

"...Okay." Nicky said, after furrowing her brows, actually contemplating the idea.

"I was kidding, you slow couch. Stay here." Lorna said leaving the bedroom, glaring dangerously at Nicky before exiting.

* * *

When Alex woke up she panicked because a certain blonde wasn't lying with her, she checked the balcony and just saw their usual bench and table filled with ashtrays.

She checked her bedroom and saw no sign of Piper or Lorna which panicked her only more.

Then she went and checked Nicky's room only to find Nicky cuddled up with her pillow and a shit load of bowls filled with snacks. She stood there for a while with a confused look on her face but left eventually to find the Blonde. _Fuck, I should have asked her number. What if she actually left. Fuck, fuck, fuck_.

She barged into the bathroom to find a peeing Lorna. "Oh for heaven's sake, did Nicky send you?" Lorna asked annoyed.

"Fuck, sorry sorry I am looking for Piper. I'll leave now." Alex said, covering her eyes.

And with the image of a very pissed off and half naked Lorna in her head, Alex decided to grab a beer in the kitchen. She knew it was too early, but she felt like she really needed one.

"Hey, Al. I made us all breakfast. Will you get Nichols and Lorna so they can join us?" Piper asked casually, while she was done plating up in the kitchen. The blonde woke up early in the morning, feeling peckish and decided to make all of them pancakes.

"Ehm..yeah sure." Alex said, feeling relieved and confused.

* * *

When the four of them finally sat on their seats, each with a hot plate of pancakes in front of them, they just sat there in awe. It was Nicky who spoke first.

"Damn, Chapman. I haven't had home made pancakes in a really fucking long time. These look and smell really awesome."

"You know what's not awesome?" Lorna interrupted. "Sending people to interrupt your peeing sessions."

"For the last time, I didn't send Vause. Why would I send people to peek on Katherine."

"Oh my God, I can't believe you actually remembered that name." Lorna laughed, burying her face in her hands. "That's embarrassing. Okay well, can you pass me the orange juice, Alex?" Lorna said a little flustered, eager to change the subject.

"Wait, who is Katherine?" Piper asked her best friend curiously.

"It's Lorna's vag-" Nicky said before being cut off by Lorna feeding Nicky pancakes.

"Here, hun. Have some of Piper's 'awesome' pancakes." Lorna said, trying to feed Nicky some more pancakes but failing because Nicky is avoiding them successfully.

"Alright, alright. I get it. Our secret." Nicky said, winking at the shorter woman who was now blushing and clearing her throat.

Alex watched her two friends interacting in their own special way. It was such a nice feeling knowing that sometimes, no matter how many years passes, nothing changes. Maybe sometimes when you have a genuine connection with someone it never really goes away. Which didn't only apply to her wild haired friend and the Italian woman sitting in front of her, but also to her and Piper. The blonde was just smiling and furrowing her brows at their weird friends and Alex just couldn't take her eyes off of her.

When it got silent at the table, Alex couldn't help but to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Nicky said, with syrup all over her face, that Lorna was trying to wipe off with her spit, gaining a disgusted look from Nicky.

"It's so weird, man. The four of us sitting at a table together, having breakfast and chatting about dumb stuff that doesn't matter. Just like the good 'ol days. The only thing that's changed is the location and our clothes." Alex said, looking at the three women.

"...yeah. Except some things did change." Piper replied with a sad smile and stood up to put her plate in the sink and then left the kitchen.

Alex wanted to follow her, but Lorna stopped her. "It's okay. Let me go." To which Alex just nodded and looked at Nicky who just shrugged her shoulders.

* * *

"Pipes, you okay?" Lorna asked entering Alex's room to find Piper sitting on the bed.

"We have to go. I have to go back home to Matt. Maybe this was a bad idea, Lorna our lives have changed way too much and I don't want to give Alex false hope."

"False hope? Piper, it's obvious you still have feelings for each other. Matt will understand, he is a clever and warm kid. I am sure he will like Alex." Lorna assured Piper.

"You really think so?" Piper asked Lorna, trying to hold back tears.

"Yes, absolutely. Just be honest with each other and consider this a fresh start." Lorna said, rubbing her hand up and down her best friend's back in a comforting way.

"What about you though, Lorn. Are you gonna tell Nick about Angelo?" Piper whispered.

"Ehm..yeah I have to...eventually. Right?" Lorna asked, to which Piper answered with a supportive smile and nod.

* * *

Nicky and Alex cleaned the kitchen, it was filled with grease stains and dirty dishes but it was now nearly spotless.

"So..you seem happy, Nick. What's going on between you and Morello?" Alex asked, while drying the dishes.

"I don't know...it feels good, you know, the teasing and just to be with her. But I think she is, ya know, 'over' me. But it's fine. At least now I know." Nicky said, while mopping the floor carefully.

"What? Have you seen the two of you? The ridiculous conversations you guys have, the looks you share, I don't think it's over. I think you guys need to talk, about serious stuff and I know that's not one of your or Lorna's strengths, but at least then you will get answers." Alex said, walking towards Nicky.

"She doesn't remember sending me the letter." Nicky said, still mopping but now very quickly and forcefully.

"Nick..." Alex said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, making her stop. "Show her the letter. This is Lorna we're talking about, she can be...forgetful." Alex said, carefully choosing her words.

Nicky sighed. "Okay, I will. Just not now, I just want to enjoy her presence. It's been a while." Nicky said, giving a tight lipped smile.

"Hey, we should take them to The Chicken's Cluck! Let it be a surprise for both of them and Red will be so happy." Alex perked up.

"Red is gonna die, sounds like a plan. Let's go. Let me grab my wallet in my room, you can inform the girls." Nicky said, putting the mop down and walking into her room. She opened her third drawer where she put her socks and a letter. The letter Lorna wrote her 5 years ago, the letter that ruined her and she decided to show it to Lorna after lunch, hoping she would be honest about it this time. She put it in her pocket, and grabbed her wallet and joined the women in the hallway.

* * *

"But we just had breakfast, I am not really peckish enough for lunch. Plus, I kinda need to be somewhere." Piper said, while she and her friends were on their way to a restaurant Alex and Nicky really wanted to go to for lunch.

"Okay just one coffee then, I haven't had a good cup of coffee since Nicky-" Alex got interrupted by Nicky who jabbed Alex with her elbow, clearly a sign to shut her mouth about the wild haired woman's one night stand a few days ago.

"Since Nicky what?" Lorna asked, while zipping up her coat.

"Since Nicky got me one from Starbucks. I have the best housemate ever." Alex said, rubbing her sore spot.

The women walked a few more blocks until they reached their destination.

"The Chicken's Cluck..oh my God, is this...no, Alex?" Piper said excitingly, holding onto Alex's arm, which gave Alex goosebumps beneath her coat.

"...Let's just go inside." Alex said while smirking.

It was Norma who greeted Alex and Nicky with a welcoming smile, but when the older woman saw Piper and Lorna she gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Dammit, we almost made her talk!" Nicky shouted laughingly. "Hey aunt Norma" Nicky then greeted and kissed the older woman's cheek. "Yes it's really them." Nicky said, looking at the two women who didn't know how to respond, until Norma walked towards them and pulled them in a tight hug.

"Awww how cute. It made her speechless, well everything makes her speechless but you know what I am talking about." Nicky said to Alex who just stood there, enjoying the sight.

"What's with the yelling, Nicky. I swear to God I can recognize your voice-" Red said, walking to the bar side of the restaurant, and being surprised by what she saw.

"Piper Chapman and Lorna Morello..." Red said as if she is looking at two ghosts.

"Hey, Red." Lorna said, walking towards the woman with tears in her eyes.

"Hello, my pretty Lorna." Red said, holding Lorna's chin, investigating every angle of her face. "You haven't changed a bit, you are still my little sweet girl." Red said, pulling the short woman in a warm hug, while looking at Piper who didn't quite know how to behave.

"Blondie, come here." Red said, opening one arm so Piper can join the hug.

After they ended the hug, Red just sighed happily looking around her. "All my girls are here, safe and sound. Let's celebrate with chicken. Real chicken." Which gained a few cheers from Alex and Nicky who then shared a knowing look. It was a look that said _"Let's cherish these good times."_

"Hey, Red. Can I make the salad, I promise I won't draw faces on them." Lorna volunteered excitingly to which Nicky just smiled, seeing Lorna like this and the family being complete, made her heart swell.

Nicky held onto the letter in her pocket and decided to not discuss it at all, it didn't matter to her anymore. She was willing to let the past be where it belonged. In the past.


End file.
